


A tea time with Mettaton

by Sunlocke



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Route nonspecific
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-03 13:52:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11533593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunlocke/pseuds/Sunlocke
Summary: There's a human on their way to Waterfall, and Mettaton wants to remind Undyne what she's really fighting for.





	A tea time with Mettaton

Undyne’s greeted by a red umbrella when she opens the door to see who had knocked. Beneath that, a familiar rectangle. She sighs right away, fingers pressing into her temples. Just fantastic, it’s the last person she ever wants to see at any given moment. Well, if hospitality means anything to her, she can’t turn him away if he came all the way from Hotland.

“Ugh.” It’s not that they utterly dislike each other, exactly, they just don’t coexist well. “Hey, Metalbutt. Come on in. I guess.”

“THANK YOU. THE LAST THING I NEED IS WATER IN MY CIRCUITS.” He folds up the umbrella and rolls past her into the house. Right now, her main room is completely trashed, littered with glowing blue scraps of magic, spears fizzling out against whatever surface they happen to be embedded in. One corner of the table is broken off, propped up by her anime recreation sword. “I SEE YOU’VE BEEN BUSY. I LOVE WHAT YOU’VE DONE WITH THE DECORATING. AND BY LOVE I MEAN I HATE IT.”

Usually, she’d be happy to join him in a little back and forth snarking, their most honest bonding time comes when they’re roasting each other hard, but maybe not right now. “Uh-huh, sure. Whaddya want? Make it quick. I’m busy. You know there’s a human coming through, right?”

“THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I’M HERE ABOUT,” he says, as she had already guessed, turning back to her. His screen is lit solid orange. If she paid any mind to his body language other than discomfort over his lack of facial expressions, she might know that means anxiety or fear…. or excitement. “WHICH I’M SURE YOU COULD HAVE GUESSED.”

Undyne holds up one hand, baring her teeth slightly. “No, know what? Just stop right there. Whatever human-loving speech you’ve got cooked up, I don’t want to hear it.” His lights dim, and he rolls back a pace. She doesn’t give him a chance to respond. “This is the _last SOUL_ we need, you pansy bucket of bolts! Maybe it doesn’t mean anything to you, but monsters’ll finally be able to go free!” Mettaton has only been around for a year or so, but even he must be able to understand how much the end of thousands of years of imprisonment means. Mettaton cares about monsterkind. Whatever doubts she has about him, that’s something she’s always been sure of.

“AREN’T YOU FORGETTING SOMETHING?” he asks, unsettlingly facing towards her no matter where she moves, swaying slightly on his wheel.

“Yeah… yeah. Forgot you’re a human apologizing… a hippie! Doesn’t change anything.” He keeps… staring, so she thinks further. “I mean, I didn’t offer you any tea, but I didn’t think-“

“WE’RE ACTIVELY AT WAR WITH HUMANKIND,” he reminds her. She didn’t get the answer quickly enough, it seems.

Undyne flings her hands out in exasperation. “Exactly! That’s exactly right! Which means it’s my duty to take the human’s SOUL. Your duty too, I’d think, I know you’re capable of it.” She hates to give Mettaton credit, but Alphys made an incredible machine, even if he is awful.

“I SAID WAR, UNDYNE, DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE WORD, OR ARE YOU JUST SPITTING UP THE ONE TIRED SCRIPT YOU KNOW?” Undyne stares at the robot, taken aback. Does SHE know what war means? Hell yeah, her enemies fallen before her, heroic life or death decisions, a beautiful captured enemy princess slowly falling for her- now is probably not a good time to get carried away and stop listening, Mettaton would spring a plot twist on her whether she was paying attention or not.

Mettaton holds both hands out towards her. “IF THAT’S HOW YOU REALLY SEE IT, YOU HAD BETTER ARREST ME FOR TREASON RIGHT NOW.” She looks at him like he’s speaking in tongues, and slowly, not moving her gaze from his screen, pulls out the chair from the table and settles back onto it.

“…Okay. I musta missed something. Say what you came here to say and start from the beginning,” she orders, propping one foot up on her opposite knee, claws lightly tracing her scales.

“”IT’S NOT A LONG STORY OR ANYTHING. JUST A QUESTION. I WANT TO KNOW HOW MANY MONSTERS YOU’RE GOING TO LET DIE.” Mettaton has stilled as much as he can without falling flat, hands folded neatly in front of him, and he says it likes he’s asking her to pass the sugar for his tea.

“Excuse me?” Given more time, she could have come up with something better, but that’s the sort of thing that requires immediate response.

“YOU HEARD ME. LOOK. UNDYNE. I WANT TO SEE MONSTERS GO FREE AS MUCH AS ANYONE. MAYBE MORESO. BUT LET ME APPEAL TO WHATEVER FRACTION OF YOUR BRAIN STILL EMPLOYS LOGIC. IF MONSTERS COULDN’T WIN THE FIRST WAR, HOW ARE WE EVER SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE AFTER LIVING DECADES STARVING AND SICK IN THE DARK?”

“Pfft.” The remark washes over her like she’s been painted with some of Papyrus’s never fail insult repellant. “That’s barely a question, Rust Bucket. Things are completely different now. You know how the first war went. Humans attacked without warning. Monsters were unprepared and peaceful. Now, we’re all ready, and everyone I know is angry. We aren’t gonna wimp out and retreat like back then, we aren’t going to show any mercy. Monsters have got _me_ now!”

The box slumps forwards almost comically, like he’s powered off due to inaction. A sound like a microphone blowing out, a sigh suddenly escapes Mettaton and he straightens up. “EVERYTHING SEEMS SO SIMPLE TO YOU, DOESN’T IT. I DON’T KNOW HOW MANY HUMANS WE’D TAKE DOWN WITH US. ALL I KNOW IS THAT IF MONSTERS LEAVE THIS MOUNTAIN RIGHT NOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DIE. AND DESPITE YOUR BRAVADO, I DON’T THINK YOU WANT TO SEE THAT.”

Undyne leans back in her seat, fingertip tracing the knob of her ankle. She watches the white hot magic spear skewering the table beside her finally collapse into a puff of cyan smoke. “What do you want from me, MTT? What do you want me to do about it? Look, Asgore declared war and that’s all that’s keeping some of these monsters going, is that hope. You want me to let the human walk away, when the sunlight is so close we can taste it?”

“IN MY IDEAL VERSION OF EVENTS, POSSIBLY.” Mettaton rested a hand on top of his frame, tiredness seeping through his very posture. Maybe the spotlight will never be as good as the sun, but he’s not that bad a guy, shining one little constant ray of hope in the dark. He was right, though. This sounds a lot like treason to her, if only monsters didn’t take politics so lightly anymore. “I DON'T KNOW. I KNOW I CAN’T STOP YOU IF YOU SET OUT TO KILL THIS HUMAN. AND YOU HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO LOCK ME UP UNDER NEW HOME UNTIL THE WHOLE THING’S DONE AND OVER. BUT YOU WON’T DO THAT. BECAUSE I THINK YOU KNOW WHAT’S REALLY IMPORTANT.”

Undyne’s skin burns with an itch she can’t scratch. “I’m all ears if you’re going to tell me some better solution. I can’t just let the human walk on through- not that I’d even consider that. You know what that would do to monsters? There’re people looking up to me too.”

“I KNOW. YOU DON’T HAVE TO. THERE’S SOMETHING UNCANNY ABOUT THIS HUMAN. IF THEY CAN’T GET PAST YOU, THEN- IT IS WHAT IT IS.” He waves a hand freely. “ASGORE MIGHT LISTEN TO YOU, IF YOU… HAVE ANY NEW CONCERNS YOU MIGHT WANT TO VOICE. IF THEY DO SLIP BY, ALPHYS HAS SOMETHING PLANNED. SHE WANTS TO HELP THE HUMAN TOO. ENLIST ME TO ACT LIKE THE BAD GUY TO SEE IF THEY’RE REALLY MORAL UNDER PRESSURE.”

Undyne cocks her eyebrow. “To act?”

So she caught the tone there. “WELL. IT CAN’T BE HELPED IF MY HAND SLIPS. MISTAKES HAPPEN WHEN YOUR HANDS ARE LITERALLY TASERS.”

“But you’re saying you wouldn’t give the SOUL to Asgore. Mettaton, what are you planning?” She’s not going to arrest him. Monsters need Mettaton as much as they need her or Asgore, even if she hates to admit it.

“IF I GET THE SOUL. MY PLAN IS TO GO AHEAD THROUGH THE BARRIER AND… PAVE THE WAY, SO TO SPEAK. I’M INDESTRUCTABLE, I’LL HAVE TIME TO TALK MY WAY OUT OF ANYTHING. SMOOTH OVER OLD WRONGS. CONVINCE HUMANS TO ROLL OUT THE WELCOME MAT FOR ALL OF MONSTERKIND. ANOTHER HUMAN WILL FALL DOWN EVENTUALLY. TRUST ME. I DON’T WANT TO ABANDON MY FANS HERE, BUT ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN WATCHING THEM ALL DIE. LEFT IN THE DARK LONG ENOUGH, THEY’LL LEARN TO MAKE THEIR OWN LIGHT.” 

Mettaton pauses, a ripple of blues crossing his screen. Undyne has both feet on the floor, leaning forwards, watching him like some strange specimen. “ALL HYPOTHETICALS, THOUGH. I’M SURE THEY WON’T GET PAST YOU. BETTER YOU THAN ME. I REFUSE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR A WAR.”

“If you’re trying to guilt trip me, it won’t work,” Undyne snorts, leaning back again. “Mettaton?”

He tilts back with a yellow screen, giving her his attention.

“Unless I really can get you a cup of tea, I’m gonna go meet up with Papyrus. And I’m not leaving you alone with my grapes.” She jerks a thumb towards the door. “Time to get out, bud. Before I punt you.”

He rolls back towards the door, catching her drift. “WELL, I KNOW WHEN I’M NOT WANTED, AS UNBELIEVABLE AS IT IS. ALL I HOPE IS I’VE LEFT YOU WITH SOMETHING TO CONSIDER.”

“God, I can’t believe you’re a big weenie like Asgore,” she says as he carefully opens up his umbrella again. A shower of glitter falls in her doorway. It’s just not tea with Mettaton until glitter gets somewhere it shouldn’t be. “I thought you’d be one of the first on the battlefield,” she jokes. “You know, a chainsaw in each hand. Spinning around like a helicopter.”

Mettaton makes a noise like a scoff and turns to leave. “Hey, Tin- I mean, Mettaton," Undyne starts. "If something happens to me- it won’t, obviously, but if something does, take care of Alphys. A-and Asgore. Just- never mind. Everything’s going to go right. Whatever that turns out to be.”

Mettaton turns back slightly, swaying. “I HOPE SO. BREAK A LEG, DARLING.”


End file.
